Sceptical Publications: Thomas Ady - 1656 Flashcards
What did Ady witness in the 1640s?
He witnessed the Bury St Edmunds witch hunts, orchestrated by Matthew Hopkins.
What were his 3 books?
- Candle in the Dark (1656): Sceptical of witchcraft.
- Perfect Discovery of Witches (1661): Attacked the hunts, criticised physicians who confused diseases with witchcraft and criticised the view that witches cause natural disasters.
- The Apostasy of Latter Times (1676): Published anonymously - possession could be attributed to mental illness.
What does he use in ‘A Candle…’ that makes it significant?
Rational common sense:
- Criticised Hopkins’ methods.
- Criticised the swimming test as it could be easily manipulated.
What was the only source used for his book and what does it say?
The Bible.
Witches in the sense of renaissance England could not be found in the Bible.
What was the significance of him using the Bible?
It was the same source that hunters used to justify the persecutions - he is directly undermining the hunts.
Why did he feel compelled to write the book?
He was aware of wrongful executions due to accusations.
Absurd to say normal animals could be familiars.
Who did he mention as a direct influence?
Reginald Scot - this was a revision of Scot’s work.
What was Section 1 of ‘A Candle…’?
He describes the Biblical definition of witches: astrologers, jugglers, charm users.
These people are IDOLATERS. But if idolaters are witches, then so are Catholic Priests.
The Bible does NOT mention familiar spirits.
How about Section 2 of ‘A Candle…’?
Catholics misinterpret scripture to justify hunts - their use of torture and killing for religion is “unchristian”.
What did Section 3 state?
He criticised English publications promoting hunts - this included Daemonologie as it referenced no scripture.
What did Ady actually believe about witches?
He believed that they existed but the Biblical version did not resemble those hunted.
A witch had NO supernatural powers; they only led others toward an ungodly path (through idolatry or Catholic practices).
Who were the real criminals in his eyes?
Idolaters and hunters.
Reverend Burroughs quoted this as a defence at Salem but was still executed.
What was the impact of the book?
- He used the Bible to contradict defences of the hunts, undermining their legitimacy.
- His explanation of magic tricks through pictures demonstrated that phenomena can have rational explanations.
- Steep decline in trials after 1660.
- The use of pictures meant it was widely accessible.
What limits the importance of Ady’s work?
- As the book came after the most intense period of hunting, it could be argued that it was the negative experiences of the hunts that led to a decrease.
- He is only reiterating Scot rather than providing new arguments.
- He is not questioning, outright, the existence of witches.
Crucially, why could Ady have more of an impact than Scot?
He was writing in a time where rational thought and the scientific method had a stronger influence on scholars and academic work.
Scot came before this change.
